The present invention relates to a stand up bag consisting of a heat-sealable or weldable plastic film for receiving liquid and/or paste-like material, the bag comprising two side walls connected to each other at their longitudinal edges, a foldable bottom member which is positioned between the side walls and serves as a self-standing bottom being arranged at the lower end of the stand up bag between the lower transverse edges, and a foldable cover member being positioned at the upper end of the stand up bag between the side walls, and comprising a removal opening between the upper transverse edge of a first side wall and the associated cover member edge, a closure element being inserted into the removal opening.
Such a bag is already known from WO 95/33663. The already known stand up bag, which is shown in FIG. 14, comprises two side walls, a bottom member serving as a self-standing bottom, as well as a cover member. The bottom and cover members come to rest within the contour of the side walls in the connected state of the bag. Said members unfold accordingly while the container is being filled. The members shown in FIG. 14 are welded to one another for forming the bag. In this process the longitudinal edges of the side walls are sealed along the areas shown in broken line. The corner portions of the side walls are connected to portions of the corresponding bottom and cover members in planar or linear fashion in the manner of a triangle. The transverse edges of the side walls shown in broken line are also connected to the corresponding transverse edges of the cover and bottom members. A removal opening is formed between a side wall and the corresponding cover member. A closure element is inserted into said removal opening. However, due to the closure element projecting upwards in a more or less rigid manner, it may sometimes turn out to be difficult to pour the filling material out of the stand up bag because the whole bag must be inclined downwards to a considerable degree. Liquid may get spilled in particular in the case of very full stand up bags.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to improve the known stand up bag with respect to handling, in particular when liquid is poured out.
According to the invention this object is achieved in that the stand up bag is provided in the first side wall in an area below the closure element with means for stabilizing and retaining the closure element in a forwardly bent position.
With the stand up bag according to the invention it is possible to fold the closure element forwards, the element fixedly remaining in said position. The bent closure element will also remain in said position if the stand up bag is gripped by one hand for pouring liquid and is thereby compressed. In the bent position liquid can be poured out safely and simply through the closure element also in the case of very full bags without the need for inclining the bag to a very great degree.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the upper cover member is also provided in an area below the closure element with means for stabilizing and retaining the closure element in an upright position.
The stabilizing and retaining means simply consist of at least one linear embossment which e.g. extends from two sides towards the central longitudinal axis of the first side wall. The embossment may extend e.g. in semioval or also triangular fashion. Such embossments form a bending border within which, when the closure element is bent forwards, the area between the embossments and the closure element bulges inwards into the bag.
The embossment is advantageously arranged in the upper third of the first side wall. This leads to the desired stabilization.
According to a preferred embodiment the cover member is connected to the respective side wall via seal seams which extend from both longitudinal edges obliquely towards the removal opening of the first side wall or obliquely towards the upper transverse edge of the second side wall, the sloped seal seams being the outer seams at the same time. Since in this embodiment the sloped seal seams extend from both ends of the longitudinal edges to the removal opening or the upper transverse edge, the cover member is no longer restricted by the longitudinal seam and can easily fold outwards when the bag is being filled. Thanks to the inclined extension of the outer seams, a V-shaped section is formed between the two side walls, said section promoting the unfolding of the cover member and permitting an easier handling of the bag.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention the removal opening is formed between a side wall tab formed on a side wall and projecting beyond the transverse edge of the side wall, and a matching cover member tab which is formed on the cover member, the tabs being interconnected along their longitudinal edges. In this embodiment the removal opening is defined by two tabs into which the closure element is inserted. Such an arrangement permits an even better bending of the closure element.
It is advantageous when the side walls are provided with longitudinal embossments which extend in spaced-apart relationship between the transverse edges and are oriented outwards. Said longitudinal embossments form longitudinal fold lines which are embossed in the form of recesses into the film material. In the filled state of the bag this yields a polygonal shape (viewed in horizontal section) of the filled container, depending on the number of the longitudinal embossments, i.e. a design different from the round shape. When two longitudinal embossments of such a type are e.g. arranged in spaced-apart relationship in each side wall, the stand up bag obtained in the end has the shape of a hexagon in the filled state, so that the containers can be stored closely side by side during transportation or also presentation in shelves of shopping centers, resulting in less clearance as would be the case with round cross-sections.
According to a further preferred embodiment the length of the first side wall is greater than the length of the second side wall, so that the removal opening of the first side wall comes to rest above the upper transverse edge of the second side wall. Thanks to such a construction the removal opening projects beyond the bag edge, so that the closure elements, such as a screw type closure, can be welded into the removal opening in a simplified way.
It is advantageous when the cover member is integrally formed with the second side wall. Since the cover member need not be specifically welded to the upper edge of the side wall, this shape makes a welding step superfluous. Moreover, the cover member can bulge in this area in a rounder and smoother form because no projecting weld seam is in the way. This is of particular advantage whenever the closure element is bent forwards, the whole cover member stretching forwards in this process.